Spiffy:

Iffy:

Africa looks sort of samey wherever you go; environments aren't as destructible as the vegetation.

It's a violent world, and the services of those with special training in the art of war are a valuable commodity. There are specialists in this field, mercenaries-for-hire, and they are the star actors in Ubisoft's upcoming shooter sequel, Far Cry 2. As one of twelve different mercenaries, it's up to the player to delve into the darkest corners of Africa and proceed to kill people, blow stuff up, and effect change through the judicious use of lead-filled force.

We had the chance to play Far Cry 2 on a PC and on the Xbox 360. The PC version of the game had much more impressive visuals, running smoothly at an incredibly high resolution, somewhere in the 1600x1200 range. While the art assets appeared to be generally the same in both versions, the 720p-resolution console version just doesn't measure up. Still, when compared to other console shooters, Far Cry 2 more than holds its own thanks to a very powerful game engine and some interesting graphical tricks that frequently come into play.

At its best, Far Cry 2 is an incredibly lush and realistic take on the wilds of the African savannah, with tall flowing grasses, worn dirt roads, and winding, shallow rivers that are navigable on flat-bottomed, propeller-driven airboats. Zebras roam these lands, and they can be shot and killed, though the animal activist in you will likely keep this from becoming a recurring theme.

At times the environment can seem like it repeats itself, as diversity isn't its greatest asset, but in terms of realism the game impresses. The fully destructible vegetation contributes to this. Fire a hail of bullets into a tree line and you'll actually topple trees and clear a path towards your target. Grasses can be set on fire with the flamethrower, and the flames will spread to create a veritable inferno.

The weapons are nicely detailed, and firing them has a nice feel and look, but the best aspects of the game's animation are tied to gameplay features. Weapons jam with use, for instance, so it can be quite heart-racing to watch a carbine jam and then see the character frantically try to clear the jam and reload while in the middle of a heated gun battle.

Jeeps that are shot up will start pouring smoke from their bullet-ridden engines, and the windshield will get littered with bullet holes as you absorb incoming fire. You also don't want to get caught driving a vehicle as it blows up, though a speeding vehicle makes for a great offensive weapon, especially if you've set up an improvised explosive device in it ahead of time.

One of Far Cry 2's interesting features is the game's day-night cycle. It's a full 24-hour cycle, with time progressing at a 6:1 ratio. Stand still, and the sun will slowly set, the sky changing hues before your eyes. The AI behaves differently depending on the time of day. Enemy combatants will start campfires at night, go on patrol, and even go to bed. It's definitely easier to stealth at night, but enemies tend to post more patrols and guards in the wee hours.

Far Cry 2 does interesting things with the in-game mapping system. You won't pause and go into a menu to look at maps, you'll physically pull out a map that can show either a one kilometer square close-up of the area or a 25 kilometer overview map, which works out to be about half the game world. These maps are updated in real time as you use your binoculars to survey the various battlefields. Spot a sniper's nest, a gun emplacement, or an ammo dump and this information is added to your maps for staging purposes. Driving away from a gun battle in a stolen jeep while finding time to glance down at the map in your lap can be quite exciting, as you very often end up just barely missing a head-on collision with a tree or barricade.